NMRDyn: A Program for NMR Relaxation Studies of Protein Association

Self-association is an important biological phenomenon that is associated with many cellular processes. NMR relaxation measurements provide data about protein molecular dynamics at the atomic level and are sensitive to changes induced by self-association. Thus, measurements and analysis of NMR relaxation data can provide structurally resolved information on self-association that would not be accessible otherwise. Here, we present a computer program, NMRdyn, which analyses relaxation data to provide parameters defining protein self-association. Unlike existing relaxation analysis software, NMRdyn can explicitly model the monomer-oligomer equilibrium while fitting measured relaxation data. Additionally, the program is packaged with a user-friendly interface, which is important because relaxation data can often be large and complex. NMRdyn is available from http://research1t.imb.uq.edu.au/nmr/NMRdyn

Automated NMR relaxation dispersion data analysis using NESSY

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Proteins are dynamic molecules with motions ranging from picoseconds to longer than seconds. Many protein functions, however, appear to occur on the micro to millisecond timescale and therefore there has been intense research of the importance of these motions in catalysis and molecular interactions. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) relaxation dispersion experiments are used to measure motion of discrete nuclei within the micro to millisecond timescale. Information about conformational/chemical exchange, populations of exchanging states and chemical shift differences are extracted from these experiments. To ensure these parameters are correctly extracted, accurate and careful analysis of these experiments is necessary.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The software introduced in this article is designed for the automatic analysis of relaxation dispersion data and the extraction of the parameters mentioned above. It is written in Python for multi platform use and highest performance. Experimental data can be fitted to different models using the Levenberg-Marquardt minimization algorithm and different statistical tests can be used to select the best model. To demonstrate the functionality of this program, synthetic data as well as NMR data were analyzed. Analysis of these data including the generation of plots and color coded structures can be performed with minimal user intervention and using standard procedures that are included in the program.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>NESSY is easy to use open source software to analyze NMR relaxation data. The robustness and standard procedures are demonstrated in this article.</p

Structure and Dynamics of the G121V Dihydrofolate Reductase Mutant: Lessons from a Transition-State Inhibitor Complex

It is well known that enzyme flexibility is critical for function. This is due to the observation that the rates of intramolecular enzyme motions are often matched to the rates of intermolecular events such as substrate binding and product release. Beyond this role in progression through the reaction cycle, it has been suggested that enzyme dynamics may also promote the chemical step itself. Dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) is a model enzyme for which dynamics have been proposed to aid in both substrate flux and catalysis. The G121V mutant of DHFR is a well studied form that exhibits a severe reduction in the rate of hydride transfer yet there remains dispute as to whether this defect is caused by altered structure, dynamics, or both. Here we address this by presenting an NMR study of the G121V mutant bound to reduced cofactor and the transition state inhibitor, methotrexate. NMR chemical shift markers demonstrate that this form predominantly adopts the closed conformation thereby allowing us to provide the first glimpse into the dynamics of a catalytically relevant complex. Based on 15N and 2H NMR spin relaxation, we find that the mutant complex has modest changes in ps-ns flexibility with most affected residues residing in the distal adenosine binding domain rather than the active site. Thus, aberrant ps-ns dynamics are likely not the main contributor to the decreased catalytic rate. The most dramatic effect of the mutation involves changes in µs-ms dynamics of the F-G and Met20 loops. Whereas loop motion is quenched in the wild type transition state inhibitor complex, the F-G and Met20 loops undergo excursions from the closed conformation in the mutant complex. These excursions serve to decrease the population of conformers having the correct active site configuration, thus providing an explanation for the G121V catalytic defect

VPS29 Is Not an Active Metallo-Phosphatase but Is a Rigid Scaffold Required for Retromer Interaction with Accessory Proteins

VPS29 is a key component of the cargo-binding core complex of retromer, a protein assembly with diverse roles in transport of receptors within the endosomal system. VPS29 has a fold related to metal-binding phosphatases and mediates interactions between retromer and other regulatory proteins. In this study we examine the functional interactions of mammalian VPS29, using X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy. We find that although VPS29 can coordinate metal ions Mn2+ and Zn2+ in both the putative active site and at other locations, the affinity for metals is low, and lack of activity in phosphatase assays using a putative peptide substrate support the conclusion that VPS29 is not a functional metalloenzyme. There is evidence that structural elements of VPS29 critical for binding the retromer subunit VPS35 may undergo both metal-dependent and independent conformational changes regulating complex formation, however studies using ITC and NMR residual dipolar coupling (RDC) measurements show that this is not the case. Finally, NMR chemical shift mapping indicates that VPS29 is able to associate with SNX1 via a conserved hydrophobic surface, but with a low affinity that suggests additional interactions will be required to stabilise the complex in vivo. Our conclusion is that VPS29 is a metal ion-independent, rigid scaffolding domain, which is essential but not sufficient for incorporation of retromer into functional endosomal transport assemblies

NMR relaxation analysis of pharmaceutically active peptides

Nuclear spin relaxation (NSR) is a powerful approach for studying dynamics at the ps-ns timescale, and is typically used to characterize fundamental biophysical phenomena such as bond vibrations and fluctuations, which affect the activity of the molecule in question. Here, this chapter will look to the application of NSR to study peptides, which are short chains of amino acids and have shown promise as modalities in drug design. This chapter will begin with a brief description of theoretical and practical aspects related to the use of NSR, such as experimental considerations during data acquisition and processing. As an example of this approach for studying peptide dynamics, this chapter will step through a case study that examines the effect of backbone cyclization on the dynamics of polycyclic disulfide-rich peptides. This case study will focus on a cyclic and linear variant of a promising drug scaffold isolated from sunflower seeds called SFTI-1 (sunflower trypsin inhibitor-1), which is a naturally backbone-cyclic peptide that comprises one cross-bracing disulfide bond